Holiday Inn Athens 50th Anniversary
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Transcript of Holiday Inn Athens 50th Anniversary
Holiday inn® of atHens
Special Edition Fall 2010
Our First 50 Years and Beyond
1960 - 2010
The Next Generation
Committed to Excellence
Then and Now
Our First Night iN AtheNs
AwesOme AlumNi
Best Guest
I spent my very first night in Athens,GeorgiaatthebrandnewHolidayInn®.How50briefyearsfliesbyquickly.
Iwillalwaysrememberourintro-duction toAthens as amilestone inourillustriouscareerattheUniversityofGeorgia and as activemembersofthis great community. On behalfofVince and all theDooley’s,wecongratulate the Benson FamilyandthestaffoftheHolidayInn®,andwish all of you continued success,alongwith50moreyearsofgracioushospitality.
Lewis Shropshire, CEO of Motel Enterprises, has run the operations side of theMotelEnterprisespropertiessince1970.OneofthemostactiveandinfluentialbusinessmenintheAthensareaforover40years,Mr.ShropshirehasservedoncountlesscharitableboardsandhasservedinleadershiprolesofalmosteverycivicorganizationintheClassicCitythroughtheyears.
Lindsey Callahan was wellknownasthefinestmaitredinAthensfordecades.OurguestsalwaysaskedforLindsey.Hesetthestandardforhowwewanttotreateveryguestoneveryvisit.LindseypassedawayinJuneof2010andwillbegreatlymissedbyallwhoknewhim.
Holiday inn® of atHens… our first 50 years and beyond2
For over 30 years,Mr.JTAndersonhad lunch at theHoliday Inn®almosteveryday.Nottointerrupta daily custom, Mr. Andersoncelebratedhis80thbirthdaywithaverygratefulstaff…whichinclud-edMr.Shropshireinagorillasuit.
Many of our community’s businessandcivicleadersyouknowtodayonceworkedattheHolidayInn®.Wecouldn’tbeprouderofourAlumni!
NotableAlumniinclude(but are not limited to)ReubelinNorrisExecutive Director of the United Way of Northeast Georgia
ChristopherJordanCox Radio
Dr.BobBrewster,DVMBarber Creek Veterinary Hospital
MaureenBakerDirector of Sales, The Classic Center
BurtLumpkinHilltop Grille
Dr.JackieWilsonAthens Technical College
DarrylMagrinoExecutive Chef, Iris Place
“”
ThesuccessoftheHolidayInn®andourthreeotherhotelpropertiesandall that it’sbrought
to theAthens tourism industrycanbedirectlyattributed to thehardworkanddedicationof
LewisShropshire.Lewishasgivenalmostalifetimeofservicetoourcompanyandhispassion
forthiscommunityandforgivingourgueststhebestpossibleserviceoneachandeveryvisitis
unmatched.OurfamilyandtheentirecommunityoweLewisanincredibledebtofgratitude.
—LarryBenson
everyONe Asked FOr liNdsey
Since 1960,businesses,universitygroups,civicandsocialorganizationshavelongregardedtheHolidayInn®astheplacetomeetinAthens.
takinG Care…
A tribute: lewis sHropsHire
Reubelin Norris
yesterday... today.... tomorrow... looking forward to the next 50.
• Holiday Inn® Athens has hosted more than 2,100 weddings
• 3,674,239 guests have stayed at Holiday Inn® Athens
• Holiday Inn® Athens has seen 286 UGA home football games
• More than 9,000 local residents have been employed by Holiday Inn® Athens
• Holiday Inn® Athens has contributed $7,898,500 for local tourism projects
• Holiday Inn® Athens has contributed $4,048,000 in local property taxes
• Holiday Inn® Athens has contributed $9,709,018 in local and state sales taxes
BY THE NUMBERS
Mr.EdBensonandagroupoflocalentrepreneursopenoneofthefirstHolidayInn®franchisesinthecountry
LewisShropshirebecomesGeneralManagerofMotelEnterprises.
HolidayInn®opensNorthTower,70upscale,oversizedroomsaimedatthebusinessmarket.Expandsmeetingroomstototal15,000sqft.ofmeetingspace.Enclosestheswimmingpoolandaddsthespa.
HolidayInn®opensitsExecutiveTower,48upscaleroomsandsuites.
HolidayInn®adds100roomcentraltowerwithconferenceroomsandrestaurants.
UGA Football’s National Championship campaign
Athens and Clarke County governments merge
1960
1970
1994
1984
1973
1980
1989through the years…
redFeArN grille
our next 50 years
sHininG stars
A New erA: will Benson
Will Benson represents the 3rd generation of leadership at theHoliday Inn®ofAthens.In2007,WillwasnamedPresidentofMotelEnterprisesandhasworkedextensivelywithMr.ShropshireoverthepastseveralyearstodevelopthekindofknowledgeandleadershipthatwillleadtogreatsuccessforHolidayInn®intothenextgenerationandbeyond.
Our Executive Chef, Melanie Hanke, bringsyears of experience, aflair for creativity andanintensedesiretogiveeach and every guestthebestpossiblediningexperience.
Today, The Holiday Inn® remains oneofAthens’bestdestinationsformeetingsandconferences.
Holiday inn® of atHens… our first 50 years and beyond 3
“”
serviNg it up with ClAss
At Holiday Inn® Athens,ouremployeesworktogetherasateamtoensurethegreatestqualityvisitforourguests.Weknowhowimportantourstaffhasbeenoverthelast50yearsandwewouldliketothankthemfortheirservice.
As legend has it, Daniel Huntley Redfearn came toAthensas a freshman fromFloridain1910anduponseeingtheArchtoNorthCampusvowedhewouldnotwalkunderthefamedcampusgatewayuntilhehadgraduated.
Atthetime,afreshmanhazingritualcalledforallfreshmentorunundertheArchinonlytheirunderwearbeforethebigrivalgameagainstthatteamfromAtlantaoftenreferredtoasthe“NorthAvenueTradeSchool.”
Redfearn did runwith his fellow freshmen, but ran around theArch instead ofthroughit.Redfearn’sactionandhisvowdrewtheattention of one of his professors who shared thestorywithhisclasses,andthetraditionoffreshmannotwalkingundertheArchbeganandcontinuestoday.
Located inside theHoliday Inn®,RedfearnGrille iseasilyaccessibleforbothguestsandthepublic.Redfearnboasts locally inspired cuisinewith a Southern charmfromourrenowned,awardwinningChef.
Redfearn’s expansive bar provides relaxation andfun forweary travelers looking foracocktailafteralongday.
We look forward to providingtheverybestlodgingproductandserviceintheAthenscommunityforthenext50years.Wewillcontinuetoofferthe
peopleoftheAthensareatheopportunitytodevelopvaluable skillswhile earninga competitivewage.Wewillalwaysshareourgoodfortunebygivingbacktoourcommunity.
—WillBenson
Find us on Facebook under “650 Beds ofAthens.”Throughoutthefall,we’llbeofferingsomeincredibleratesandpricestoourFacebookfansincelebrationofourfirst50years.
of Business
LewisShropshire43 Years
PennyLester21 Years
GaryMitchell15 Years
KimBarnett12 Years
JennyGordon26 Years
JaniceGresham21 Years
MinnieBoswell14 Years
CraigJackson28 Years
DonaldChapman15 Years
DennisHill13 Years
yesterday... today.... tomorrow... looking forward to the next 50.
MotelEnterprisescompletes$2.5millionrenovationoftheformerRamadaInnonBroadStreetandreopensitastheHolidayInn®Express.
Opensthe185roomHiltonGardenInn®
WillBensonnamedPresidentofMotelEnterprisesInc,TheAthensHotelCompanyandtheClassicCityHotelCompany.
HolidayInn®istotallyremodeled.Newrestaurant,RedfearnGrille,opensinsideproperty.
HolidayInn®opensNorthTower,70upscale,oversizedroomsaimedatthebusinessmarket.Expandsmeetingroomstototal15,000sqft.ofmeetingspace.Enclosestheswimmingpoolandaddsthespa.
The Classic Center is opened on Thomas Street. Olympic Soccer played in Athens
UGA and MCG announce plans for partnership in medical school campus on current site of Navy School
1998
2006
2007
2010
1996
2009
…to tHe residents and visitors of atHens, GeorGia for a Great first 50 years! we look forward to tHe next 50 and Beyond.
Holiday inn® of atHens… our first 50 years and beyond4
seNd us yOur memOries… we’ll help yOu mAke sOme New ONes.
wiN with hOlidAy iNN®!
Since we opened in 1960, our guests have made countless memories right here at our downtown Athens, GA location and we want to hear about them!
Send us your stories and/or pictures and tell us about your memorable moments made during your stays with us!
To thank you for a great first 50 years, the Benson family will pick the 5 best stories and treat the winners to a game weekend in Athens November 26-27.
Each winner will receive a Friday and Saturday night stay at the newly renovated Holiday Inn®, the closest hotel to the stadium, PLUS a pair of the Benson family’s personal tickets. The grand prize winner will even receive a pair of suite tick-
ets to the game!!!
For details, visit www.hi-athens.com
(L-R) Larry Benson Ed Benson Will Benson
197 E Broad Street Athens, Georgia 706.549.4433 www.hi-athens.com
tHank you
Holiday Inn® Athens, Holiday Inn® Express Athens, Hilton Garden Inn® Downtown Athens, and SpringHill Suitesby Marriott Athens are locally owned and operated by Motel Enterprises, Inc. A division of Benson’s Inc., Athens Georgia.